Falkirk

Falkirk ‘Great Scot’ wins community champion award

7 November, 2017Fraser Johnston won the Great Scot Community Champion Award

Fraser Johnston, aged 20, has scooped a prestigious accolade for his dedication to supporting the community.

Outstanding community champion

The Falkirk local received the Community Champion Award at the Great Scot Awards for his involvement in setting up the Cycling Without Age scheme.

The star-studded awards ceremony took place on Saturday 28 October, hosted by newspaper columnist and newsreader Jackie Bird at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Glasgow Central.

The award, sponsored by Specsavers, recognises individuals or groups who have shown incredible commitment to improving the lives of people in their local area.

Going the extra mile for care home residents

Fraser dedicates his spare time to taking care home residents out on trips on a specially designed trishaw cycle. The trips enable the residents to take in the Scottish scenery including landmarks such as the Kelpies.

Helping to set up the scheme last year, Fraser now has a team of 30 volunteers and has raised more than £43,000 via a crowdfunding page to fund the initiative. His work has attracted huge attention in recent months after his story hit the headlines and videos of the scheme went viral.

Fraser said: ‘I was delighted to win the Great Scot Community Champions Award. We only started offering the rides in February this year and it has been amazing to see how fast it has taken off. Cycling Without Age is a really simple concept that everyone can identify with.’

Supporting locals on our doorstep

Now in its third year of sponsorship, Specsavers in Falkirk supported the prestigious awards, dubbed the people’s Oscars, which honours the incredible achievements of ordinary people across Scotland who do extraordinary things.

Zander McNaughton, store director at Specsavers in Falkirk, said: ‘We are thrilled the winner of the Community Champion Award is someone who dedicates their time to people right on our doorstep.

‘Supporting the local community is at the heart of what we do here in the Falkirk store – from caring for the sight of people in the town, to supporting local causes through fundraising. Sponsoring the Community Champion Award is a natural extension of this.’